Buffalo Sabres coach, Lindy Ruff is the second-longest tenured coach in all of professional sports, including the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. He may have the most wins of any NHL coach with his first team, but he hasn't been getting many of those lately. Considering Ruff has been leading the Buffalo Sabres since the Summer of 1997, it may be time for a change. In that time period I've gone through 4 years of college, moved four times, bought and sold a car, worked for an airline, worked as a farmer, and flown a blimp back and forth across the country more then I can count. In times when no one seems to have any job security, how has Lindy been able to keep the keys to the Sabres locker room?
Lindy Ruff did have early success in his coaching career with a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1999. At that time he had a superstar goaltender, Dominik Hasek and a 40-goal scorer, Miroslav Satan, on the roster. The team actually started their playoff run as the 7th seed which made the trip to the Finals that much more impressive. In total, Ruff has had 8 playoff appearances thus far and the team hasn't made the Eastern Conference Finals since 2006 or past the first round since 2007. In comparison, the longest tenured coach in professional sports is Gregg Popovich of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Going into his 15th season as head coach, he has won 4 NBA Championships with his first being, coincidentally, in 1999.
It has been well documented in the media that there are three things that reign true in Buffalo, NY. First is that we are the originators and foremost authority on Buffalo Wings. Next is that no matter who you talk to in the world, the first thing that comes up in conversation when you say you are from Buffalo is the snow. It is usually closely followed by the 4 unfortunate Super Bowl losses of the Buffalo Bills. Perhaps the biggest and most disappointing truth for Sabres fans though is the fact that Lindy Ruff isn't going anywhere.
No matter how bad things get, Ruff seems to have a secure job. Even when he starts to take a little responsibility for the slump by saying goaltending, defense and offensive production have all been a problem which falls on him, he is still seemingly untouchable. A coach can't really do anything about injuries or how many injured players are thrown at him at one time. However the one thing Ruff can do as head coach is motivate his players.
Lately there just doesn't seem to be a consistent enough motivation in the Sabres locker room. With all of that talent in the Buffalo lineup, there is no excuse for the team to be slipping out of playoff contention. Saying we just didn't work hard enough tonight or the bounces just didn't go our way gets a little exhausting. Something needs to change. Whether its the system their playing or trading one of the many slumping players or a complete leadership change, something needs to be done before its too late in the season to make a difference.
They say the definition of insanity is hitting your head against the wall again and again and expecting a different result. Well Sabres fans, I think we've just hit the wall of insanity.
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